


cover me (the enchanted ink remix)

by lolainslackss



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, First Meetings, M/M, Magic Shop, Magical Tattoos, Scars, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-12-16 21:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21042956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lolainslackss/pseuds/lolainslackss
Summary: Andrew's very specific brand of witch-craft involves enchanting ink to create magical tattoos. Neil Josten has some dark magic scarring he wants covered up.Or, Andrew and Renee run a magical tattoo parlour and Neil is Andrew's newest client.





	cover me (the enchanted ink remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jemejem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jemejem/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Cover Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19732828) by [jemejem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jemejem/pseuds/jemejem). 

> jemejem's tattoo parlour au was so soft and wonderfully-done. as soon as i read it, i knew it was the fic i had to remix. 
> 
> and how do you remix a fic? make it magic of course ;)

"Andrew,” Nicky called. "Your two o'clock is here."

Andrew sat up carefully, feeling hellish. His skin was clammy and what was exposed of it was sticking unpleasantly to the leather of the couch. His mouth felt dry and his head was all cottony. He knew sleeping during the day was a bad idea but he always succumbed to the temptation of napping in between appointments anyway.

It didn't help that he was adjusting to his new meds that made him feel groggy and disconnected from the world. Renee had given him a new helix piercing earlier in the week, a selenite crystal adorning the silver.

"For clarity," she had said.

Damn clairvoyants always knowing what you needed before you'd even worked it out yourself.

Andrew got to his feet and made his way through to the foyer, where Nicky was chatting animatedly with who he supposed was his 'two o’clock', this twitchy kid with hair like autumn and eyes the colour of robin's eggs. So stupidly blue they must be magicked that way, Andrew thought, when their gazes met.

"This is Neil," Nicky told Andrew conversationally as Andrew continued to size Neil up. Neil opened his mouth to speak but Andrew pushed an exaggerated sigh out of his pursed lips before interrupting.

"Let's go, then," he said, jerking his head in the direction of his studio. "I don't have all day."

"_I _ was waiting for _ you_, actually," Neil muttered, making Nicky chuckle.

Andrew rolled his eyes and began walking back to his studio without checking Neil was even following, falling back onto the sofa with a sigh. Neil slipped into the room all quick and quiet-like, shutting the door behind him and then hovering unsurely beside it.

Andrew watched him through one lazy, open eye. He was wearing an oversized white hoodie, black combat trousers and chunky boots, the monochrome colours making his hair and eyes appear even more vibrant.

That wasn't all.

There was dark magic scarring trailing down his face. His hands, which fluttered nervously as he fiddled with the hem of his hoodie, were similarly stained. Marks like that could only be left by the cruellest of curses. The damage probably spilled like a glittering nebula over who knew how much skin, and though he'd seen similar scarring on other clients many times before, Andrew still sucked in a breath and then attempted to swallow it down, smoothing his fingertips over his lips. Neil could tell what he was looking at, though, and wrapped his arms around his stomach, cringing away from the weight of Andrew's scrutiny.

Andrew forced himself to look neutral, even though his mind was a swirling mess. "So? What do you want?" he asked, eventually.

"I want to cover _ this _up." Neil gestured vaguely at himself. "I've heard you're good. Gentle."

Andrew had to stop himself from scoffing at that. "The ones on your face too?"

"Hmm, no," Neil said unsurely, dabbing at them absent-mindedly with his fingers. "They're kind of a part of me now. But the rest-"

He trailed off, eyes suddenly blank and hazy.

"Have you ever had a magical tattoo before?" Andrew asked.

"Never," Neil replied, snapping back to reality.

"They're expensive," Andrew told him. "You could probably get the damage magically repaired - removed, even - for the same price somewhere else."

"I don't want to do that," Neil replied stonily.

Andrew very nearly laughed. "Well, that makes two of us."

Neil frowned at that but Andrew pressed on before he could ask any questions.

"You want them spelled to do anything in particular?"

"Like what?"

"Generic good luck charms? Something more specific, like to remind you of something you keep forgetting?" Andrew paused briefly before continuing. "Or even warn you if danger is near?"

Something shimmered darkly in Neil’s gaze, but he didn't reply.

"Magic like that will cost you more, though," Andrew went on, spinning his hands as he talked.

"Something like that won’t be necessary," Neil settled on finally, after finding his voice again. "But can you- is there a way that the tattoos can make me feel- feel _ less_?"

"Feel less what?" Andrew asked.

"Like my life is a sinkhole that keeps growing?" Neil supplied, wincing.

Andrew licked his lips and leaned forwards. "Magic can’t make you happy, Neil."

Neil shrugged as if he'd expected Andrew to say that.

"But I can charm the ink with a generic healing spell," Andrew said slowly before raising his eyebrows pointedly. "Is that something you'd be interested in?"

"Healing," Neil repeated, like it was a concept totally unknown to him.

"Yes, healing," Andrew told him. "You might want to talk to Renee about crystals, as well. She could give you a piercing with something appropriate fixed to it, if that sounds appealing to you. We can also direct you to some apothecaries. Ones that deal in herbs and plants and tinctures. Things that could aid recovery."

Neil shrugged again. "Maybe later. Right now, I just want to get everything covered."

"Why?" Andrew asked him, unable to stop himself.

"To take control over them?" Neil offered, prickly at first and then softening. "And in taking control of them, eventually making peace with them? I don't know. It makes sense in my head but when I try to say it out loud-"

"It makes sense," Andrew interrupted. He snapped his fingers at Neil. "Let me see."

Neil hesitated, his fingers twisting the hem of his hoodie again.

"I'll need to see them eventually, you realise," Andrew said drily.

"I know," Neil snapped. "Just give me a minute."

Andrew nodded and made himself busy putting on some music and flipping through some potential designs.

Neil, meanwhile, slowly unstuck himself from his clothes, looking upset at first and then blanker than blank. He didn't stop at the hoodie, eventually stripping down to just his boxers. And Andrew had been right, about the nebula. Huge scorches of magic, entire mottled patches of the stuff, the bad stuff, the fucking _ worst _ stuff, flooded Neil's skin. They were everywhere and all Andrew could think was, _ who made you hurt so bad? _ Then, more quietly, _ is it over? _

"He's dead," Neil said, as if reading his mind. Andrew narrowed his eyes. Maybe the fucker was psychic and actually _ could_. "And I'm not psychic. You're just easy to read."

"I don't hear _ that _a lot," Andrew admitted after a beat.

"Well, you don't hang out with _ me _a lot," Neil replied with a smirk.

"No, but I will," Andrew told him, gesturing to Neil's body, to his latest, possibly vastest canvas. "This will take _ weeks_. Multiple sessions. I've inked skin damaged by dark magic before and it always hurts. You need to know that before we start."

"I can handle it," Neil replied immediately.

"I know," Andrew said. "But that doesn't mean you have to."

"I've been thinking about this a long time," Neil said, shaking his head firmly. "I'm finally here. Just- I need to do this. I need for you to do this."

Andrew considered that and then nodded. "What did you have in mind?"

Neil hummed, suddenly thoughtful.

"You don't have to tell me all of your ideas right now," Andrew said. "We can just start with one."

"One?" Neil pressed his lips together, thinking. "Animals, maybe?"

"What animals?"

"Foxes. They're- my favourite, I guess."

"Why's that?" Andrew asked.

"Because they're good at surviving," Neil answered. "They can run and run and run and run."

Andrew looked down at his own tattoos, unfolding his sketchbook hands to look at the twin pages of his palms. They were filled with dozens of doodles, all of them permanent. His personal favourite was the scribbly cloud that jolted with lightning whenever the weather was about to take a stormy turn. He inked it himself, but Renee was the one who spelled the ink with a clairvoyance charm. A few other useful ones were the ornate keys lined up near his thumb. They looked simple, but they were magically coded to open his car and apartment doors. Nobody could lock or unlock them but him _ and _he never had to deal with the annoyance that came with losing a set of actual, jangling keys. More fun was the winking black cat above his wrist who occasionally purred whenever he said something particularly clever. It was less functional than some of the others, but he got a kick out of her nonetheless.

Twirling up his arms were other tattoos, some magical, some not. Some held secrets, like the interlocked hands with the date of his and Aaron's graduation hidden in the delicate swirls of ink. Others were more obvious - warning signs even - like the car in motion, that would occasionally crumple, as if crashing, then return to normal. It was the first enchanted tattoo he'd ever gotten and the magic was wearing thin now, but every now and then, he'd catch a glimpse of the car folding like a fragile thing, a blackbird's wing being clipped. Above it was a mouth that occasionally stretched into a grin, exposing fanged teeth. Another way of saying _ beware_.

He'd started inking in juvie and started adding magic to the mix once Renee took him under her wing and taught him how to spell ink. He had so many tattoos he had started to lose count, but they were a constant, even if they were spelled to shift or change. They were proof he was still going, proof he was alive and whole, blanketing the pale, creamy scars on his arms but not erasing them completely. 

Andrew would never eclipse the past completely, but he didn't mind making it less visible.

He looked over at Neil, at his skin, lightly goose-pimpled now that he was out of his clothes. His body told a story of violence but also one of survival. Now, Andrew would help him write the next chapter.

"Foxes. Right. Let's start with foxes."

-

Here's the thing: Andrew Minyard was not broken. If he were one of Renee's enchanted, self-stirring teacups, he might be a little chipped or cracked, maybe, but not broken. Healing - that thing Neil Josten wanted so badly without even really knowing it - was a long, gruelling and painful process for Andrew. But here he was, holding down a steady job and working on his witchcraft, all the while maintaining healthy, stable relationships with Aaron and Nicky. He had worked out how to keep the monsters at bay and part of that meant never letting himself be vulnerable. Going soft and doughy for somebody, that was how cracks widened. _ That _was how people broke. And Andrew Minyard was not broken.

So, that's why, when Neil stood up after their first session, with fox spirits slipping down his shoulders to his chest, watercolour-orange and sprinting as if towards something, and asked, _ how does it look _ , Andrew didn't reply, _ perfect_, or _ beautiful_.

He just shrugged. "All that matters is you like it."

Neil smiled and nodded and then they were heading upstairs, where Neil's (very expensive-looking) ride was waiting for him. Andrew caught a glimpse of the driver, some woman with a sleek blonde ponytail winding down from a black beret. There were a pair of stupidly large sunglasses masking her eyes, but for some reason, she seemed oddly familiar. As he watched them leave, Neil waving hesitantly, Andrew wondered yet again where Neil came from. Where he went to after.

"Want me to do a reading for the two of you?" Renee asked, looking up at him knowingly from where she was perched in the window seat, shuffling her tarot deck, her pointy little boots resting on a footstool.

"Why would I want that?" Andrew asked in response.

"Just thought you might be interested," Renee replied with an easy shrug, the cards dancing in her hands. "He's your type."

"I don't have a type," Andrew said. The cat on his wrist hissed.

"She doesn't like fibs," Renee commented, raising her eyebrows and waggling a scolding finger at him.

Andrew just flipped her off.

-

The work took weeks, but it was good work. An exhausting, productive process for both of them. Andrew spelled his ink every night before seeing Neil, arranging bundles of herbs and flowers and flickering candles in a neat circle on the rug before sitting cross-legged in the centre. The scent of burning chamomile and lavender and apple blossom would be thick in the air as Andrew said his incantations, the words soft in his mouth.

As he spoke, he thought, _ heal _ . _ Heal. You’ve been through enough. _

Having Neil in his studio was an oddly calming experience. Sometimes he chatted, meandering from one topic to another. Other times, he'd remain silent, even when Andrew was sure the pain must have been unbearable.

Weirdly, or perhaps not weirdly at all, Andrew found out they shared connections. Neil was, in fact, the roommate of one of his former clients, Matt Boyd.

"Matt recommended you, actually," Neil told him and Andrew remembered the track marks he'd covered with a city skyline that morphed depending on the time of day. There'd be sunshine in the morning and stars at night. There were even fireworks on the fourth of July.

If Neil lived with Matt, that meant he also lived with Dan, who was Andrew's ex-partner Kevin's adoptive sister. What a complicated, small world.

He suddenly thought of Neil's driver and everything made sense. That must have been Allison. Neil really was in with that whole crowd.

"You covered your own scars as well, right?" Neil asked, his gaze dipping away from Andrew's, ashamed almost, as if he wasn't sure he should be asking such a personal question.

Andrew looked from the gently buzzing tattoo gun to the tattoos sprawling up his arms. "I did. They were like Matt's, though. Real-world booboos. Not dark magic ones."

"I figured. Could you- would you want to tell me about it sometime?" Neil asked. "I can tell you all about mine. I know you're curious."

Andrew looked at him blankly.

"'M not a psychic, I swear," Neil reminded him. "I can just- I can kind of pick up on people's energy? It's mostly just a jumble of colours and images and sometimes words. Most of it makes no sense, but there's something in your energy that's- kind of like, reaching out to me?"

"Probably because I'm literally currently tattooing you," Andrew said blandly. "You're my client, remember?"

"I'm not trying to imply- ugh, I don't know." Neil huffed. "Forget it, okay?"

Andrew hummed and got back to working on a cluster of trees for the foxes to run into and hide.

"Maybe next time, okay?" Andrew said. _ Fucking weakling_.

Neil looked at him, surprised, and then smiled.

When they went back to the parlour's foyer, Allison was inside, sharing a cup of tea with Renee. Andrew smelled the rose in the air before he noticed Renee's pink cheeks or the twinkle in her eyes. They shared a brief knowing look before he rolled his eyes at her. She poked out her tongue at him in return. 

"All done?" Allison said breezily, looking up at Neil as he and Andrew approached.

"For today's session, at least," Neil replied.

"Good stuff, honey bee," Allison said, standing up to ruffle Neil's hair. "Should I take you back home?"

"You know," Renee suddenly blurted, and _ oh _, how Andrew enjoyed seeing her all worked up over a pretty girl. "If you ever considered a tattoo yourself-"

"Darling, I'm already covered in the things," Allison interrupted, gesturing down at her black catsuit. "You should see what I look like underneath this."

Renee swallowed thickly.

"Home, Neil?" Allison asked again, pulling her eyes away from Renee’s and nudging Neil in the ribs.

Neil nodded and then looked at Andrew. Andrew's heart floundered in his chest and he pressed the heel of his hand hard into his sternum, thinking, _ calm down, dumbass_. Sure, Neil was fascinating and gorgeous, but he was just a client. Would be gone in three weeks, tops.

Andrew pulled himself together and nodded a goodbye.

"So, uh, thanks for today," Neil said, slightly dreamily. Allison snorted and batted him on the shoulder and then they were gone.

-

The work took weeks, but it was good work, even though Andrew was teetering dangerously close to the edge of a very specific cliff. He could recognise a crush and could brush it off just as easily. But this was distinctly _ more _than that, he could tell. It was probably the selenite’s fault. He tugged at the piercing ruefully. Fucking Renee.

"Pretty," Neil breathed out, focusing on the tattoos adorning Andrew's skin, probably as a way of distracting himself from the pain he was experiencing.

"Renee designed that one," Andrew told him. It was a stylised version of the tattoo parlour store front. The windows glowed warmly with light from gently swaying lanterns, violet neon flashing to read, _ magical tattoos_, _ crystal piercings _ and _ tarot card readings_. It might seem odd, maybe, to have your place of work tattooed on your skin, but for Andrew, the shop was a lifeline. It was representative of his relationship with Renee, a deeply life-changing relationship which in turn, represented the beginning of his journey with magic.

Neil reached out. "May I?"

Andrew bit his lip and suppressed a shiver before nodding.

"Yes?" Neil asked.

"Yes," Andrew bit out.

Neil's touch was feather-light as it trailed across the tattoos, causing some of them to shimmer and blush rosy-pink, before reaching the slight ridges of his scars. Neil sucked in a breath.

"It's fine, Neil," Andrew told him.

Neil nodded and then turned his attention to what Andrew was doing: inking over a particularly bad patch of dark magic scarring.

"My father's 'occupation' involved magical torture," Neil explained, his voice small yet razor-sharp. "It's no wonder it spilled into his home life as a means of disciplining his son. He could get creative too, he realised after a while. Use him to test new methods."

Andrew tried to force his expression into one of neutrality, thinking of the ink currently being embedded into Neil's skin, how carefully he'd handled it last night as he'd enchanted it, thinking, _ heal_, _ heal_, _ heal_, nearly even saying _ please_. Neil's beautiful skin, freckled and still slightly sun-kissed from the tail end of summer. Damaged and used in a way nobody deserved.

"It's okay now," Neil said. "He's dead, remember?"

"Good," Andrew muttered. "Otherwise, I would kill him myself."

Neil stilled and then laughed and Andrew thought, _ there are so many lines I'm crossing_.

"Do you want to come over to mine later?" Neil asked. "Dan and Matt and I are having a movie night. Ordering Indian food. You could come. Renee too. I know Allison would like to see her again."

Andrew sighed. So many lines crossed. Why not one more?

He passed Neil the salve, their thumbs brushing in a way that filled Andrew with the urge to hook his fingers around Neil's. To bring them to his mouth to kiss each one of his knuckles.

"I'll be there."

-

Going soft and doughy for someone, that was how cracks widened. That was how people broke. That had always been Andrew's mantra. Don't let anybody get too close; it never ends any way but badly.

But then- that hadn't happened for a long time, had it? If Andrew were being honest with himself, which he made an everyday priority, everyone in his life now - Aaron, Nicky, Renee - _ they _ were close and things were good. Steady. Forever, as icky as that sounded. _ Why couldn't Neil be the same? _ Andrew caught himself wondering, as the TV bathed the room in blue light and Neil yawned cutely before tentatively moving to place his head on Andrew's shoulder.

"Okay?" Neil whispered.

"Okay," Andrew mouthed back.

"Only one more session, right?" Neil asked, causing Allison to shush him harshly from where she was snuggled up on the couch with one leg draped over Renee.

Andrew nodded, his eyes glued to the screen.

"I'll miss it," Neil admitted, before going silent.

They watched the rest of the movie like that - quietly, and with Neil resting his head on Andrew's shoulder, but Andrew could barely pay attention. He kept replaying Neil's words in his mind.

_ I'll miss it_, he'd said.

Andrew couldn't help but notice how it had sounded like, _ I'll miss you_.

-

"All done."

Andrew walked over to the faucet to wash up. He thought about how he felt when he finished up with any other client. How his heart wouldn't be throbbing tightly in his chest at the thought of never seeing them again like it was now. How it was a stupid train of thought because Neil _ wasn't _just any other client.

"So now that I'm not your customer anymore," Neil began, zipping up his hoodie and shooting him a smug grin. "Would it be totally inappropriate to ask you to kiss me?"

Andrew's hands stilled under the running water. He turned slowly.

"This is still my place of work," he said. "And technically, you haven't handed over your final instalment so you _ are _still my customer."

Neil rolled his eyes as the cat on Andrew’s wrist made a disgruntled, snuffling noise.

"Andrew, come on, you can't tell you you haven't felt-"

"Go to dinner with me," Andrew said, wiping his hands on a towel. "Renee knows a couple of supposedly amazing witch-run restaurants."

"The food isn't spelled is it?" Neil asked, tilting his head to one side and wrinkling his nose.

"No," Andrew said, closing the distance between them and standing in front of Neil, close enough to pull his head down and kiss him. On instinct, he reached up and threaded his fingers through Neil's hair experimentally. Neil's eyes fluttered closed at the touch. "We could go tonight. Reconsider the kissing then, maybe."

Neil's eyes opened. "Then, it's a date?"

Andrew's gaze flitted to a tiny fox on the back of Neil's hand. It hid its face with its tail, as if embarrassed.

"It's a date," Andrew said.

The cat on his wrist purred happily.


End file.
